What is the Green Homes Grant?
The Green Homes Grant voucher scheme funds energy-saving home improvements.
It's a UK government home improvement grant, worth up to £5,000. It pays for two-thirds of the overall cost for your renovations. You’ll need to use some of your own savings to pay for the full home improvements bill.
There are some circumstances where your Green Homes Grant voucher value will increase.
For example, if you or someone in your household claims benefits, the value of the voucher increases to £10,000 and it will fund 100% of the improvements.
The government suggests that the Green Homes Grant could:
- Reduce your energy bills by up to £600 a year
- Increase the value of your home
You can only apply for the Green Homes Grant once. In other words, if you apply for the grant, your partner couldn't also apply if you live at the same address.
How to apply for the Green Homes Grant
Accessing the green grant is a three-step process:
#1 Plan your energy-efficient renovations
Use the Simple Energy Advice postcode finder to see the energy performance certificate (EPC) issued when you bought your home.
The service asks you a series of questions about your home and calculates renovation costs, plus how much money you could save if you plump for the improvements.
#2 Find a local installer to apply your insulation
Find a TrustMark registered tradesperson and ask for their TrustMark license number.
They’ll help you to look closely at the insulation and materials in the walls, floors, ceilings and roof.
If there’s heat loss, you can consider the energy-saving options to make your property warm and comfortable.
#3 Apply for the Green Homes Grant Voucher
The voucher application is an online form. All you need is the name and address of the person who owns the property to get started.
You can apply for the primary and secondary improvements together, or separately using a unique reference number.
What home improvements could you make?
The grant gives you the financial flexibility to add new materials, like insulation, to the makeup of the building to make it warmer and more efficient.
Think of it like a roof insulation grant, or a loft insulation grant, but with the opportunity to add more improvements elsewhere in your home.
However, you won’t be able to direct exactly how the grant is spent.
The government has a say in what you spend the voucher on. It has split the home improvements into ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ measures.
What is a primary measure?
Primary measures include insulation and low carbon heating. You must install at least one primary measure using the grant.
ROCKWOOL stone wool counts as a primary measure because it's insulation.
You can plan to apply insulation, like stone wool, throughout your whole building to make it warm and energy-efficient:
- In external or internal cavity walls
- Around solid walls
- Under the floor
- In the loft
- On a flat roof or pitched roofs (fifth facade)
You can’t use the grant to replace underperforming insulation or insulation you’re unhappy with for safety reasons.
However, you could use the grant to apply ROCKWOOL stone wool to areas with no insulation, like the loft.
The voucher will usually cover the full cost of the primary measures. You can use any remaining value to pay for a secondary measure.
When the work is done, your building will be consistently warm.
You won’t need to rely solely on throwing a rug over the floorboards to save money, or switching your gas and electricity provider, although shopping around will always help you to get better value.
What is a secondary measure?
The secondary measures make improvements to:
- Windows and doors, like double glazing and draught-proofing
- Heating controls
- Hot water tank management, like insulation and thermostats
“Critically, the secondary measure must not cost more than the primary measure,” explains ROCKWOOL UK’s head of product management, Paul Barrett.
“If you spent £1,500 on loft insulation, you could only spend £1,500 on double glazing.
“The grant covers two-thirds of the cost regardless of the amount, so if the total cost was £600 the government would cover £400.
“This amount should be sufficient to cover all of the primary insulation measures.”
Who is eligible for the Green Homes Grant?
The £5k grant is open to homeowners and landlords who live in England.
That includes long-leaseholders, shared ownership, private rental, and social rentals (like local authorities and house associations).
The Green Homes Grant isn’t currently on offer in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, or the Republic of Ireland, but there are alternatives detailed by the Energy Saving Trust.
To find out if you're eligible, visit .Gov.
Is there a deadline to apply for the Green Homes Grant?
The deadline to apply for the voucher is 31 March 2022. The UK government has made £2billion available to claim before then.
